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(5)Phantasy Star vs (12)Contra 2004
Results Sunday, April 4th, 2004 Ulti's Analysis When the bracket first came out, there were only three matches in Division 8 that were hard to call at all. One of them was this match, Phantasy Star vs Contra, where CJayC's flawed nomination system took precedence. You were only allowed to pick one game per system. This caused all sorts of chaos on parts of the bracket. We won't get into the example of this until later, but I'm sure everyone can guess what it is. The problem with this system? The weaker systems that only have one or two notable titles got their best games into the bracket with ease, while the more competitive systems had to duke it out with games from their own system to get in the contest in the first place. Many undeserving games got into the contest because of this, which shafted a few legendary titles. As such, Phantasy Star, one of the few notable games from the Sega Master System, got into this contest as a 5 seed. Meanwhile, Contra has to claw and scratch its way through Nintendo nominations just to get in. Its reward? One of the most overhyped matches of the first round. Not only did Phantasy Star prove to be totally undeserving of its seed, but it helped prove that franchises don't help games with individual matches. The success of Phantasy Star Online was supposed to be the deciding factor in Phantasy Star's victory here; instead, Contra beat Phantasy Star all over the place in this poll. I guess franchise votes don't matter much if your game's title doesn't have 'Final Fantasy' in it somewhere. It's a shame too, because barely half of the bracketmakers managed to get this one correct. The 5 seed was reassuring for some reason, but it failed miserably. The game with the rugged soldiers and the most legendary cheat code in the world moves on with relative ease. This not only proved that Contra has quite the fanbase, but that Phantasy Star 4 had zero chance whatsoever of taking down Super Metroid. Stats and Analysis Before the Match This was a matchup between two games on different ends of the spectrum. Phantasy Star came in with the 5 seed, and was the only Sega Master System game in the contest. Contra was, like others, an NES game and made the underdog in seeding. There was arguments on both sides, with Phantasy Star to get support from the other Phantasy Star titles, and Contra's popularity in the hardcore crowd (don't forget the Konami Code!) After the Match This was a match that Contra would not lose. It took the win easily with 61% of the vote, leaving the board to debate the reasons for Phantasy Star's failure. The widely accepted reason was that Phantasy Star received many nominations due to the nomination system, which asked for one game per game system. Interesting Facts * This match happened on the same day as Daylight Saving Time, which meant that the match only lasted 23 hours. External Links * Oracle Match Results • Previous Match • Next Match Category: 2004 Spring Contest Matches